Yo, Montana, here's your $170,000 back Thursday, May 29, 2003 Being a consultant, I feel a little awkward telling other EDPros that they don't need consultants as much any more. But that's the dirty little secret. Take the case of Montana. They just spent $170,000 on a statewide cluster study. Yesterday, in Montana, the state's ED leadership just had a big launch of the report with an economic summit. Well, there's only one catch. Michael Porter, the godfather of clusters, has already put most of this information on the web for free. You can get a good overview of your state's clusters on this page If you are in a metro area, you can get the data from his Cluster Mapping Project. If you are still eager to learn what clusters are all about, shell out $28, and buy Michael Porter's On Competition. He explains how to do a cluster analysis in the book. (It's pretty simple.) Architects are fond of saying, "God is in the details." And so it is with clusters. There's no magic here. Clusters form naturally. And good EDPros can accelerate their development by encouraging stronger relationships needed for competitive communities. It's applied common sense. Nothing more. The best place to learn is from other EDPros. That's what this weblog is all about. As for consulting, my guess is that the days of the big consulting study are numbered. There are no experts anymore. Today in our history of innovation... Today was a lucky day for Thomas Edison. He received eight different patents: three in 1883, four in 1906; and one in 1923. (I'm getting tired just reading about them.) posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links Some Background on EDPro Weblog The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it. One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking. Background on Ed Morrison Download some background information on me here.

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